OLC RESEARCH CENTER FOR DIGITAL LEARNING & LEADERSHIP

Instructional Design in Higher

Education: Defining an Evolving Field
From OLC Outlook: An Environmental Scan of the Digital Learning
Landscape

July 2018

Elaine Beirne
Dublin City University

Matthew P. Romanoski
The University of Arizona
 OLC Research Center for Digital Learning & Leadership

Introduction

This white paper provides an overview of the growing field of instructional design in higher

education, from why the field is growing to how designers are functioning in their role. While

the practice of instructional design dates to the 1940s (O’Malley, 2017), there is still much to be

defined with respect to the role of instructional designers in higher education and what

instructional designers are doing to meet the needs of higher education faculty and students. This

white paper explores why there is a growing demand for designers, who is filling these roles,

what the responsibilities of designers are, and how instructional designers are addressing the

challenges they face. For further reading, a supplemental annotated bibliography is also

available.

Growing Demand for Instructional Designers

The higher education landscape continues to change and evolve. Technological advancements

mean that institutions can offer students more blended and distance learning opportunities.

Traditional learning environments are also being enhanced by the integration of tools such as

learning management systems, lecture capture systems, and collaborative platforms. Growing

numbers of students are looking for more flexible formats for undertaking courses, certificates

and degree programs. Findings from the 2017 Survey of Online Learning, conducted by the

Babson Survey Research Group show that distance education enrollments are continuing to grow

year to year, even as overall higher education enrollments begin to decline. As of fall 2016, there

were over 6.3 million students taking at least one distance education course, comprising 31.6%

of all higher education enrollments (Seaman, Allen & Seaman, 2018). As the technological
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capabilities of institutions have improved and online learning has grown more popular, there has

been an equivalent increase in demand for instructional designers in higher education institutions

(Barrett, 2016). Faculty are facing increased pressure to provide more online and hybrid courses.

However, what they are doing in their face-to-face classrooms does not translate to online

instruction. In addition, the learning benefit of new tools cannot be automatically inferred.

University administrators are recognizing that faculty need help to transition their face-to-face

courses to teaching in an online environment (O’Malley, 2017). Consequently, instructional

designers are emerging as pivotal players in navigating this transition.

Who Are Instructional Designers?

The origins of instructional design date back to World War II when the armed forces assembled

groups of psychologists and academics to create training and assessment materials for troops

(O’Malley, 2017). Today, an increasing number of colleges employ teams of instructional

designers to support teaching and learning practices on their campuses. A 2016 report on the

role, workflow, and experience of instructional designers, estimated that a minimum of 13,000

instructional designers now work on U.S college campuses (Intentional Futures, 2016). Despite

their growing prominence in higher education, there is still a certain mystery surrounding who

instructional designers are. In an attempt to answer this question, Intentional Futures (2016)

surveyed 853 people in the field to explore their backgrounds, qualifications and employment

histories. The findings revealed that instructional designers tend to hold advanced degrees and

have a wide range of work experience:

 OLC Research Center for Digital Learning & Leadership

● 87% of respondents have masters’ degrees, and 32% have doctoral degrees.

● 57% have 3 to 11+ years of experience teaching in higher education.

● 53% have 3 to 11+ years of experience in technology development.

● 53% have 3 to 11+ years of experience in academic research roles.

● 42% have 3 to 11+ years of experience in graphic design.

These findings exemplify that the path into the profession varies from person to person and there

is no universal profile of an instructional designer.

Defining an Instructional Designer’s Role

While the field of instructional design and demand for professionals to fill instructional design,

roles have expanded, there remains ambiguity for many as to what is encompassed by the role of

an instructional designer. In part, this is attributed to their diverse responsibilities. Most

instructional designers identify four categories of work they are responsible for: designing,

managing, training, and providing support (Intentional Futures, 2016). In carrying out these

responsibilities their work includes collaboration with an equally diverse range of colleagues. To

add to the mix, the defined role of an instructional designer may vary not only between

institutions, but within academic departments and offices at the same institution. These factors

contribute to the ambiguity of the instructional designer role, as the area of focus varies between

institutions and departments. Despite this ambiguity, the core goal of meeting objectives)

remains a constant (Berrett, 2016). Instructional designers are focused on student success and use
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a wide range of methods to achieve that goal and individual circumstances shape what role an

instructional designer is most needed to emphasize in a given learning environment.

In addition to the roles discussed above, instructional designers are becoming more and more

involved in teaching and learning research. A survey of 311 instructional designers conducted by

Oregon State University’s Ecampus Research Unit found that 71.4% of respondents were

engaged in research activities in the year leading up to the survey, with 49.2% engaging

specifically in research on teaching and learning (Linder and Dello Stritto, 2017). This study

shines a light on a fifth category, research, that may be a significant part of the responsibilities of

instructional designers. Important points to consider in light of this information is that only

24.8% of instructional designers have research as a part of their job description and when

surveyed about confidence levels in completing research tasks respondents reported “low

confidence” in nearly half of the thirteen tasks (Linder and Dello Stritto, 2017). This underscores

an area in which instructional designers need more support to complete these tasks as well as

recognition through job descriptions and evaluations of this category of work that many seem to

be silently conducting.

Effective Practices of Instructional Designers

Instructional designers identify “struggling to collaborate with faculty” as their top challenge,

followed by lack of time and resources (Intentional Futures, 2016). A common question

overheard at conference workshops among instructional designers is, “How do you get faculty

buy-in?” Why is buy-in a barrier? In part, instructional designers point to a misconception held
 OLC Research Center for Digital Learning & Leadership

by many, that online learning works using a “set it and forget it”, crock pot style approach

(Intentional Futures, 2016). Another barrier to collaboration is the concern of faculty that their

course will lose its personal touch in the design process and the student will become just a

number as the entire learning process is mechanized (Berrett, 2016). One strategy being

employed by instructional designers to address this is to implement an instructor driven process

that preserves the human element. At the University of Arizona, designers begin their

conversations with instructors by asking how they are teaching concepts to their face to face

classes and using that as the bridge to discuss how that can be translated to the online classroom

(Berrett, 2016). This aligns with a common practice by designers in working with faculty, which

is to reassure faculty that everyone’s end goal is to do what is best for students and that they are

there to support the faculty and preserve the human element of the learning process (Berrett,

2016). Efforts to connect instructional designers to share best practices in overcoming barriers

exist and have proved to be effective. Penn State University and Educause partnered to created

ID2ID, a peer mentoring initiative for instructional designers. Designers apply to serve in either a

mentor or mentee role and meet throughout the year to talk about best practices, challenges and

other topics related to the field. Now in its second-year feedback has been positive and

organizers are looking for ways to improve and expand the program.

Defining an Evolving Field

Instructional Design is a dynamic and fluid field. This white paper explored recent literature on

the topic in an attempt to bring the field into focus. It is clear, however, despite recent progress,

that a consensus has yet to be reached in defining the various aspects of this evolving field. As
 OLC Research Center for Digital Learning & Leadership

the role becomes more clearly defined faculty will have a better understanding and awareness of

what their relationship should look like, resulting in improved recognition of the part that

designers play in the higher education system. Next steps for accomplishing this goal include:

● Expanding efforts to share research and best practices;

● Improving training and development processes;

● Clearly outlining industry standards for the field; and

● Identifying practices to improve instructional designer career pathways.

Conclusion

As online and distance learning continues to grow in popularity, the demand for instructional

designers will continue to increase. As the field grows, a clearer picture will emerge that defines

the kind of work that designers do. While there is no defined career path for entry into the field,

more standardization is emerging along with degree and certificate programs to facilitate the

process. As these various aspects of instructional design become more clearly defined, it will

become easier for designers to connect and share best practices. While organizations have begun

this effort, it is in its infancy and a strong support network will be vital to the field’s growth and

to the success of professionals doing instructional design work. These developments are

important components in developing a clear understanding of the field of instructional design.

 OLC Research Center for Digital Learning & Leadership

References

Berrett, Dan. (2016, February 29). Instructional Design: Demand growth for a new breed of
academic. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved from https://www.chronicle.com/.

Intentional Futures (2016, April). Instructional design in higher education: A report on the
role, workflow, and experience of instructional designers. Intentional Futures. Retrieved from
https://intentionalfutures.com.

Lieberman, M. (2018, April 25). Peer Mentoring for Instructional Designers Pays Off. Inside
Higher Ed. Retrieved from https://www.insidehighered.com/.

Linder, K. & Dello Stritto, M.E. (2017). Research Preparation and Engagement of Instructional
Designers in U.S. Higher Education. Corvallis, OR: Oregon State University Ecampus Research
Unit.

Milosch, T. (2018, January 17). Building a Collaborative Instructor-Instructional Designer

Relationship. Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved from

O’Malley, Sharon. (2017). What Do Instructional Designers Do? Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved
from https://www.insidehighered.com/.

Tate, Emily. (2017, May 10). Easing Instructional Designer -Faculty Conflicts. Inside Higher Ed.
Retrieved from https://www.insidehighered.com/.

Seaman, J., Allen, I., & Seaman, J. (2018). Grade increase: Tracking distance education in the
United States. Retrieved from Online Learning Consortium website:
https://onlinelearningconsortium.org/
 OLC Research Center for Digital Learning & Leadership

About OLC Outlook: An Environmental Scan of the Digital Learning Landscape

OLC Outlook: An Environmental Scan of the Digital Learning Landscape is a series of original white
papers from the OLC Research Center for Digital Learning & Leadership, designed to keep higher
education professionals informed of the latest developments in the field of digital learning.

The OLC Outlook series is a strategic planning resource, illuminating priorities, trends, innovations
and other considerations that OLC uncovers through its daily research and analysis of the digital
learning landscape and interactions with leaders and innovators in the field.

Each OLC Outlook white paper offers a curated 360-degree view of a critical digital learning topic,
providing access to helpful resources that can be used to inform strategic planning and solve
strategic challenges.